Are the Toronto Maple Leafs Open to Trading Timothy Liljegren? Should They Be?
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made former first-round pick Timothy Liljegren available, according to David Pagnotta of the fourth period.
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving could trade Liljegren and such a move could help the Leafs land a coveted player to add to their roster, or it could help them move up in the draft and allow Treliving to use the money for Liljegren on an upcoming free agent.
Liljegren is coming off a two-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $1.4 million. He is a restricted free agent (RFA) this off-season and is eligible for arbitration.
There is a possibility that Liljegren could seek over $4 million a season, but that seems extremely unlikely and way too high. Such an ask would surely necessitate a trade, but there is also a good chance he would sign for much less.
Former teammate and fellow Swedish-born defenseman Rasmus Sandin signed a five-year deal for $4.6 million a season with the Washington Capitals. Liljegren and his agent could see that as a comparison during negotiations. (Salary cap info from capfriendly.com)
Liljegren registered three goals and 20 assists for 23 points in 55 games this season. He averaged 19:40 minutes of ice time per game and finished the season with 116 blocked shots and 92 hits.
(All stats from hockey-reference.com)
Toronto Maple Leafs and Liljegren Haven't Spoken Much
The Athletic’s Joshua Kloke reported that although Liljegren is a pending RFA, the Leafs haven’t had many contract extension talks with him. Kloke says Liljegren is not a focus for Toronto, and it could take some time for his market to play out.
If the Leafs decide to trade Liljegren, it might not happen until after Treliving adds to the Leafs defense in free agency. The Leafs are in the market to add a defenseman or two. Treliving will want to have as much cap space as possible to acquire free agents. As for Liljegren, he will have to wait his turn.
The Leafs could decide to take Liljegren to arbitration and hope to get a deal done for around $3 million or less. The Leafs could also work out a potentially long-term team-friendly deal with him because they really don't have a lot of puck-moving right-hand defenseman to fall back on.
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One thing is clear, and that is that Liljegren is not the Leafs top priority this summer and we may have to wait for several other moves before we find out what the Leafs do with him.